Check where your ad appears on Google search results

After you've gotten your ad up and running, you'll probably be eager to see exactly where it's appearing on Google's search results page -- in other words, your ad position. We'll review how to find it with the Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool, and by using the average position column.

Use the Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool to see where your ad appears on the page for a particular search request. This is an easy way to check on the position of a single ad, and the tool provides the exact same results as a Google search without accumulating any impressions.

Look for the average position column in the statistics tables on your account tabs. If you don't see the column, you can add it to your account statistics. This is the best way to check multiple positions at once.

Tips

We know it's tempting, but it's best to resist the urge to search on Google.com to check your position. By performing searches that trigger your ad, you'll accumulate impressions without clicks, which can lower your clickthrough rate and prevent your ad from appearing as often as it should. Also, if you repeatedly look for your own ad using Google search but never click on it, you might stop seeing it entirely. That's because Google's system stops showing you ads that it thinks you aren't interested in.